Trantrums

Question
QUESTION: Hi, I have a pot bellied pig who is about 7 months old, he was neutered at about 4 and a half months. (I am going by what the breeder told me his age was, I'm unsure if it is 100%). He is very loving and always wants to sleep on everyone's laps. He has always had a bit of an attitude, so I bought the book "pot bellied pig behavior and training" and I follow all the tips to keep him from biting, but he just hasn't seemed to stop.
He is a bit spoiled and does get to lie in bed with me a couple of hours every night, but I always make him go to his own bed after he gets up to go pee. And he does get treats, but he never gets any if he doesn't do a trick for it first. I also do "move the pig" quite often and make him back up.
His tantrums have been becoming more dramatic though, he throws them when he is being moved, has to go outside, or when he is told no. He throws his head and bites, and sometimes backs up and holds his mouth open and runs at my hands. He used to get mad and go across the room and pee on the floor, but I have stopped this by putting him out after he throws his fits. He growls non-stop when he is angry. I usually tap his nose and say "no" when he is
biting, but if it is out of control I hold him by his shoulders until he calms down and doesn't hurt himself or anyone else (he is only about 30 pounds right now so this isn't hard to do) or I put him in a room by himself to cool off. He also tries to get onto anyone's laps when he is mad and lie down, which I find very odd, and don't know if I should stop him or let him do it.
Is there anyway I can stop him from throwing fits? I can't find anything that I haven't tried online or in books to help him.
Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

ANSWER: This is a difficult situation. It sounds like you are doing everything right.

If I am understanding correctly, you've had this pig less than three months and got him directly from a breeder. His weight sounds right for a 7 month old, young piglets should gain about 1 pound per week.

He may have bonded closely with someone (or another animal) at his previous home. He might not understand why he had to leave and is angry at you. If so, the only thing to do is be loving but stick to the rules until he adjusts.

Is he a bottle fed baby? His desire to climb into laps seems to indicate that he was cuddled and held a lot as a baby. Bottle fed babies often have aggression issues that start to surface at the transition point from childhood to adolescence, around 8 months or so. Females often get their first heat about this time, too. Again, the only solution is consistently following the rules.

Consistency is the key, it makes pigs feel secure because they know what to expect. The danger here is that this could turn into a battle of wills, and a spoiled pig has a very strong will. Especially if he had bad habits at this previous home that you are trying to break now. Every one in the house has to follow the same rules, that is, no treats unless doing tricks, etc.

If temper tantrums worked for him in his former home, then he'll expect them to work with you. It's what he knows. When it doesn't work, the natural thing for him to do is just try harder, throwing a bigger tantrum.

Does he show any signs of being a cryptorchid (retained testicle) pig? Excessive foaming, humping, tusks starting to project past the lip? If that's the case, he'll need a little more surgery to be fully neutered and get all those male hormones out of his system.

Keeping a harness on him during the day might help, too. Harnesses are not supposed to be pig handles, but it's easier to hold onto an angry pig in a harness than a naked, angry pig.

Pigs don't really understand the connection between their actions and a "time out". Sometimes it IS necessary to remove the pig from a situation that is clearly on it's way out of control (or already there). But don't leave the pig in the time out space for more than a minute, just long enough for you to catch your breath. Let him out again, and start over.

Some pigs really despise nose taps, that could be agitating him even more.

Consider what happens before these temper tantrums and biting spells. Something is happening to trigger these events. Watch his body language carefully, you may be able to pick up on signals that indicate he's getting upset.

Finally, there is the issue of what happens when you are not there with the pig. I had a situation once where a happy pig turned terribly nasty, because the owners grandson was tormenting the pig when he and the pig were left alone.

I don't do phone consultations, but there are several pig experts who do. In a one on one direct conversation they may be able to figure out ways to avoid the triggers. Susan at Ross Mill Farms does phone consultations and offers a "piggy camp" for behavior modification or weight loss. FAREC (Forgotten Angles Rescue and Education Center) might have a list of phone consultants. Visit their website at www.farec.org, or email them at info.farec.org


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I've had him for almost 5 months now, and I wasn't the one who went to get him from the breeder, my father was, and from what he told me the pigs there were all living in a barn outside and not well socialized.But the breeder did have children so maybe they bottle fed him and held him a lot, he didn't give me much information.
When I first got him I wasn't very prepared other than what I read online so we spoiled him but mainly with attention, which is what I'm guessing is causing him to need to be held when he's angry? If he throws a tantrum and calms down when he is in someone's lap should I let him stay there? or remove him for a minute or two time out and then let him go back?
He doesn't have any excess foaming (other than when he gets excited about food), and does not hump or have any tusks yet, so I don't think that is the case.
He has been drooling excessively lately though, and leaving big wet spots where ever he sleeps, I've checked his teeth though and can't seem to find any bumps or sores in his mouth, but he isn't very cooperative when I try to open his mouth or put my finger in it.
He does seem to lash out more though when I tap him on the nose, so I will stop with that.
Usually the thing that causes his fits is when he is being moved off of someone's lap, or is not aloud to lay down with someone. He will let me do anything to the side of his body that is facing away from me when he is laying in my lap, but if I put my hand in between him and myself then he growls and starts to throw his head if I keep pushing.
I don't think anyone is being mean to him when I am not there, but I do think that when my parents are watching him they spoil him with treats a little, I tell them not to but they just can't say no to his cute face which is probably causing him to be angry with me when I say no. I will have to insist more that they don't spoil him.
Thanks again for all the help, I will be sure to go to that web site!

Answer
Yes, it does sound like Spoiled Pig Syndrome, or SPS. He's learned that it comforting to be held, so that's what he wants when he's upset.

The behavior you describe, letting you touch him on the away side, but getting upset about a hand in between the both of you, is typical pig behavior. He has chosen to snuggle against you. He is regarding your hand as another "entity" trying to squeeze in and push him away. So, he growls at the "thing" that is trying to separate him from you. He may or may not understand that the "thing" is your hand.

Another interesting thing pigs like to do when they lay next to each other is to lay nose-to-tail. This instinctive behavior helps protect them from predators in the wild, they are literally watching each other's backs.

They are also noisy and sometimes a little grumpy when they settle in to sleep. But there's a difference between this kind of noisy getting comfortable behavior and an angry temper tantrum.

I think if he stops the temper tantrum, he can stay in your lap. The idea is to reward good behavior with something he likes (sitting in your lap). The flip side is to deny the reward (lap sitting) when he's doing something wrong (growling and head swiping).

I'm not sure if restricting his lap time would help, but it might help to move him off your lap a lot. He needs to adjust to the idea that the lap belongs to you, not him. So make him move if you need to get up and make him move for no obvious reason.

Pigs have three sets of teeth in their lives, he's probably teething.

It's easy to teach a pig something, it's hard to get them to unlearn something. It can take a very long time for the pig to forget all the bad habits, so it's important to stick to things (like move the pig off the lap at random) long after the bad behavior seems to be gone.